Relief-valve for pneumatic tires.



A. L. IIWENS & c. L. ALFORD.

RELIEF VALVE FOR PNEUMATIC TIRES.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.29. 19I4. 1,144,499.

Patented June 29, 1915.

IIII

JW iw' .aiunnnw i.. cwnns aND cnannns L. ALronD, or INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA; sain Atronn assIeNon1 ro sein ownNs.

RELIEF-VALVE ron PNE'UMATIC TIRES.

.application led August 29, :1914. Serial lo. 859,184.

1'" o @ZZ 'whom t may concern:

Be it known that we, ANDREW L. OwnNs and @nannies L. ALFORD, citizens of the United States, residing at indianapolis, in

t the county of Marion and State oflndiana,

have invented certain new Iand useful Improvements in Relief-Valves for Pneumatic Tires, ofwhich thefollowing is a specicaf open above a predetermined pressure of air within a tire and remove the excess pressure by allowing the contained air to 'escape which will obviate the danger of the bursting of the tire from excess inflation.

A further object of the invention is to` provide a relief valve which can be readily adjusted to operate at diderent air pressures from within the tire, and also to provide means for filling the tire with air without interfering with the operations of the relief valve so that the latter will positively avoid the danger of excess inflation at the initial charging of the tire, as well as afterward.

TVe accomplish the above, and other objects which will hereinafter appear,` by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drauf'ing, in which- Figure 1 is a longitudinall vertical section of our invention as applied to a pneumatic` vehicle tire, and Fig. 2 is a transverse section on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1.

tiilre characters of reference indicate like parts throughout the two views of the drawing.

Referring to the drawing, 3 represents the wheel-rim and 4 the inner tube of a pneumatic tire.

5 is the nipple of usual construction eX- tending from the inner tube to and through the rim 3, and projecting inwardly of the rim. it terminates with a screw-threaded end 6 of reduced diameter upon which the body-member 7 of our improved relief valve is screwed in ,the manner shown in Fig. 1.'

A reduced' end 9 of the body-member has a seat to receive a ball-valve 10, and it is externally screw-threaded to receive the internally threaded end of a body-extension 11.

The body-member 7 is hollow to form the chamber' 12 which communicates with the conduit through the nipple 5, and the ballvalve when in its seat in the end of the extension 9 closes a reduced channel 13 eX- tending from the chamber 12 longitudinally of the body-member. The socket in the body-extension 11 which receives the reduced extension 9 is deeper than the length of the latter so as to provide a valve chamber for the operations of the valve 10, and.

the unobstructed circulation of air around the latter when open. Passages 14, to atmosplier-e, are formed through the body-extension 11, from said valve-chamber whereby air admitted to the latter by the opening of the valve will discharge to atmosphere.

The ball-valve 10 is seated by a spirally wound spring 15, located in a. socket for that purpose provided in the body-extension 11. A head on a screw-threaded bolt 1G bears against the spring 15. The end of the bolt projects beyond the body-extension l1 by passing through a correspondingly threaded opening in the latter. The end of the bolt is notched to receive a screw-driver for adjusting it to regulate the pressure of the spring' 15 against the ball 10, and a given ad- 'justment of the bolt is retained by a nut 17.

A cap 18 is screwed upon the reduced end of n the extension 11 to prevent accidental movement of the bolt 16 and nut 17.

l.A branch passage communicates obliquely through an arm 20 with the chamber 12. Through this oblique branch passage air for iniating the tire is introduced in the usual manner. lVithin the passage is a valve of usual construction and operation, as shown in Fig. 1, which need not be described in detail here.

In the operation of our invention, which may be installed by screwing'the old valve off and replacing it with ours on the nipple 5, the tension of the spring 15 is regulated by the bolt 16 to cause the ball-valve 10 to open under any desired pressure of air with- Specification of Letters Patent. Patgntgd June 2g, 1915 .insure an airtight joint between said arts.

in the-tire. The number of pounds pressure at which the valve is set to open can readily be measured by the pressure gage which is part of the tire inflating equipment to be found atany of the garages or air-supplying stations commonly distributed throughout the country. When the valve 10 is thus set i toopen at asafe pressure for the tire such opening and relief will occur Whenever the air expansion from heat causes the pressure of the air within the tire to exceed that limit,

and suolik action will so continue as to remove the possibility of danger from tire explosion. When the temperature conditions are reversed the slightly deliated tire can be pumped upagain. The filling of the tire fthroughthe oblique passage and arm does not interfere with the operation of the relief valve which* latter is always ready to make over-ination impossible. p

Wvhilewe have describedour invention with lmore or less mimiteness as regards detai ls of and the substitution of equivalents as circumstances may suggest or necessity render expedient.

'Wr e claim:

In a relief valve for pneumatic tires, a hollow body member assembled radially of the wheel and terminating with an inner valveseated threaded end, avalve-closed air-passage discharging into the hollow .of said body between said valve-seat and the base of the body, a body extension havin@ aY threaded end-recess in which the threaded valve-seated end of the body is screwed, a valve on said recessedhend of the bodyextension smaller than the recess to provide circulatory passages between it and the recessed walls, a spring seated in a reduced extension of the recess and guided against the valve b v the walls of the extension, and means for regulating the pressure of the spring against the valve.

In witness whereof, we have hereunto set our hands and seals at Indianapolis. Indiana, this 17th day of August, A. D. one thousand nine hundred and fourteen.

ANDREW L. OWENS. [1.. s]

CHARLES L.v 4ALFORD. [1.. s] Witnesses:

J. A. MINTURN,

l.v L. LARsoN. 

